10/24/2010

This will most likely be where the performance area will be.Bruce Ratner and his Atlantic Yards boondoggle may of physically squashed Freddy's Bar & Backroom in the end but they did not extinguish the will to keep Freddy's Bar going.

I was happy to hear about the new lease signing last week and to also visit the NEW location of Freddy's Bar this past Saturday. It is located in the old Ellis restaurant space at 627 Fifth Avenue between 17th and 18th Streets in the south slope.

Former Manager of the old Freddy's,Donald O'Finn, now part owner of the NEW Freddy's released this statement:"The lease has been signed, We signed on the evening of Oct. 21, 2010. The opening of the doors is contingent on the speed and accuracy of both the State Liquor Authority and the Department of Buildings, as well as the embrace of Community Board 7.

The inmates now run the asylum."

The space is quite large and plans include a music/performance area with a stage and space for art exhibits. It also has a small backyard and a fully functioning kitchen. The former owner of the original Freddy's is out of the picture and the new Freddy's is a joint partnership between Donald O'Finn, Matt Khun and Matt Kimmett, the two former being previous Freddy’s bartenders.

As Donald O'Finn said before the closing of the old Freddy's, "Freddy's is not an address, it is an idea." And it was my impression on Saturday that the new Freddy's has every intention in continuing to present that idea with free live music and events every night of the week in the same uniquely open and collective manner as the old Freddys. Ideas were being thrown around about how to eradicate the quite hideous metalesque Ellis exterior, where to put the stage and where to have art exhibits. Hopefully the next steps will go quickly as the new owners are antsy to open up and get back behind the bar A.S.A.P!